ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the operating costs of carrying cargo by air. These are divided into flight or aircraft operating costs, handling and marketing costs and overheads. First the chapter examines the operating costs of those airlines that operate only freighters, including marketing costs and overheads. It looks at freighter aircraft operating costs by type of aircraft and discusses a popular type of freighter use is on an Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, Insurance (ACMI) and or wet lease basis. The operating costs of all-cargo airlines are published in more or less detail in the annual reports of some of these carriers, by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and some country aviation authorities. The chapter explains US cost comparisons for short-/medium-haul and long-haul aircraft. Aircraft operating costs will also depend on whether an airline has commonality across its fleet. First, it would clearly give a cost advantage to B777F freighter operators if the airline operated the passenger version of the same type.
